We recently hired a new bookkeeper, and learned something surprising in the process. We found that most of the people applying to the job, an extremely detail oriented bookkeeping position, paid little to no attention to what the directions and description on the job posting actually said.

In the application instructions we asked that people send their applications in as a PDF - this wasn’t due to some technological restriction that prevented us from reading other file formats; we asked for this as a preliminary screening technique. Shockingly, less than a third of the people who applied to our position actually followed these directions. Not a single person who failed was asked to come in for an interview; we didn’t want our finances handled by someone who couldn’t carefully read a simple set of instructions.

Attention to detail is a skill which is vital to almost any job you might come across. A furniture maker without this skill would make sub-par furniture, a waiter wouldn’t get orders right, a journalist wouldn’t write quality stories. It’s one of the most vital skills anyone can have, and failing to demonstrate it during the application process is a huge mistake.

There are any number of reasons that someone could gloss over the instructions on an application, it could be due to the impersonal nature of applying online, or the sheer number of applications that someone is sending out, or it could be due to one of countless other factors. At the end of the day however, why applicants choose not to follow instructions is irrelevant - if someone can’t even follow the directions to apply to a job, why would an employer trust that person enough to work there?

Your job search is your business, but here’s a tip for anyone currently looking for work: pay attention to the instructions on the application. Take it from someone who has both been overlooked for positions because of this simple mistake, as well as seen what happens on the hiring end to people who fail to follow instructions. Pay attention and you’re already doing better than most of your competition.

Customers frequently come to us asking if we can sell their used furniture. This is something that we have done in the past, and while yes, we can do it, we'd rather focus on practicing the craft we love​ Chairish is a site that is used by both amateur and professional furniture sellers, and would be perfect for anyone looking to offload a piece of furniture that they have replaced or no longer have room for. The site is an online retailer that works similarly to a consignment store; the seller lists their item, Chairish decides to accept it, and when the item sells Chairish keeps at most a 20% cut of the sale price (Chairish takes less of a cut on more expensive items). The process is super simple; all you have to do to sell an item is take some photos of the piece you’re trying to sell (brows our websites for ideas on what angles work best), list your item, and when the items sells either ship it for smaller items, or Chairish will come and pick the item up if it is too large to ship through USPS or another postal service. It’s super simple, Chairish takes care of most of the actual work for you, and you don’t have to give up a huge cut of the earnings from the sale.

We’re suggesting Chairish because it is one of the few online retailers where you can resell one of our pieces, as they focus solely on high end furniture. If you need more suggestions or ideas on what to do with furniture you no longer have space for or no longer need feel free to drop by the shop and ask us some questions, we’re always happy to help.

A couple of weeks ago we had a booth at the first farmer's market of the season where we got to meet some of the people who make the Bellingham community the incredible place we love to call home, Getting to see so many of you, whether you are a longstanding member of the Greg Aanes community or a new face just getting to know what it is we do, was truly a privilege that we can't wait to have again. We loved seeing you guys discover the comfort of our products and admire the results of our dedication to the craft. We even gave everyone who was there a 25% discount on all the furniture they bought at the market. My personal favorite was getting to know you better as a community; new customer or returning, whether you were looking for something in particular to buy, wanted to know more about us, or even if you just wanted to chat about your day, talking to all of you was a pleasure. We can't wait to see you all again on May Sixth when we will next be at the market, in the mean time feel free to stop by our shop on Queen street and see what we have to offer or have a chat. See you soon!